Tagged: Alternative

One of the things we’re most pleased about typing whenever we get the chance is the phrase ‘new music from Ardyn‘, so naturally we’re rather excited about this post.

New tune Throwing Stones is a further twist in the evolution of the sound of Katy and Rob Pearson, a brother/sister duo from Gloucestershire. Speaking of the song, Katy said: “The song was inspired by feeling very disillusioned, in particular with the current state of politics and unrest in the world. With everything seemingly going a bit haywire, I felt I needed to put that into words. We’d also recently watched The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock which definitely stuck with me, so the song party draws from that film.” Continue reading →

The second single from the forthcoming fourth album from Manchester band Everything Everything (released 18 August) is Desire, a bold, brash and unashamedly loud statement about society’s ‘want it now’ culture.

The song represents a big contrast to Can’t Do, the first release from the new album A Fever Dream and a former Sync Track of the Week, employing a musical backdrop akin to glam-rock, mixed with the bands ever-developing harmonies and bringing the distinctive falsetto of frontman Jonathan Higgs very much to the forefront.

We’ve been huge fans of the blissfully laid-back sound of Australian indie-dance outfit Tora for a while now, and this latest release is nicely seeing us through that always-difficult middle part of the week.

Blame is taken from the band’s debut album Take A Rest which is out now. Watch out for them live too as they’re embarking on an extensive European tour in the autumn, including stops in Manchester (7 October), London (9) and Brighton (10).

Heading up our latest Sync List, the new song from Swedish singer-songwriter Skott has all the ethereal beauty of her earlier songs Porcelain and Glitter & Gloss, building delicately to something of altogether epic proportions. There’s a hint of Lana Del Ray to start with, some Kate Bush-esque magic too, but really, Mermaid signifies more of a confirmation in earnest of Skott’s very own distinctive style.

Hearing her live is believing – those high notes really are that flawless when she performs. Shortly heading to the US for a couple of support slots with the mighty Phantogram, her next UK headline show in London on 13 September is sold out but fans can track her down supporting MØ on her autumn tour dates in Bristol (23 October), Glasgow (24), Manchester (25), London (27), Norwich (28), and Birmingham (29).

London trio Fassine have unveiled a new video for their latest track Palio, taken from their soon-to-be-released second album Gourami which is out on 28 July.

Lyrically dark and musically complex, Fassine’s sound has a hint of Trent Reznor’s influence and sits alongside the cinematic, lyrical qualities of UNKLE and the minimalistic tone of Berlin-era Bowie. Their aesthetic encompasses the oppressive, cold and austere atmosphere of 1970’s and 80’s British TV drama, inviting the listener to enter the group’s stark, cold world.

Theirs is very much a cinematic sound, so it’s not surprising their songs have featured on a number of high-profile American TV drama’s including Sky Atlantic’s The Following, Fox’s Lucifer, and Sony’s The Art Of More. And if you like this kind of complex, beautifully-crafted stuff, check out previous track Gold too.

Catch Fassine today and tomorrow when they perform live at Manchester’s Night & Day (21 July) and at the Sebright Arms in London (22).

We were lucky enough to catch Banfi during the frenetic schedule of the Dot To Dot festival in May and they were one of the real highlights. The three-piece band from lovely Leytonstone, East London, have that knack of pulling out the kind of killer hooks that give their brand of indie-pop enough of an extra edge to really stand out from the crowd.

She Comes Home is their latest effort and is probably their most accomplished yet. It cements our view they they’re destined for a far, far higher profile.

Banfi hit the road this September so don’t miss them if you live within an acceptable distance of these fine towns and cities, especially as the support is the most excellent Bryde: Oxford (8 September), Glasgow (10), Manchester (11), London (12), Southampton (14), Bristol (15), Birmingham (16), Nottingham (18), and Leeds (19).

Gravity is the new track from Danish experimental pop songstress Kill J. It has all the ingredients we love – it’s leftfield, quirky and wonderfully multi-layered. Very much looking forward to hearing and seeing more from her over the coming months.

North London-based producer and artist Raphaella has released her first solo release of the year with the sublime Turn Around. It’s slick and stripped back right from the off, providing just the right backing for a rich, soulful vocal.

Speaking about the track, Raphaella said: “Turn Around is about the moment you walk away from someone because you know they’re no good for you. Your head has made the decision, but you know your heart could betray you any moment. Love is hard and the right decision is almost never the easiest – it’s the last bit of your heart that hasn’t let go, saying if you wanted me to, I could turn around and come right back. Turn Around is the last song before letting go.”

Expect a lot more to come from Raphaella. She has been busy in the studio working on projects with luminaries such as Rudimental, MNEK, Steel Banglez, MIST, Gorgon City, Watermat and Wilkinson.

We’re fortunate to have a lot of new music come our way at Sync, plenty of it superb. But it’s rare that you get ‘that feeling’ when you hear a voice; the feeling that it simply has to hit the big time. That’s certainly what sprung to mind on first listen of Tom Walker‘s masterpiece Blessings.

The song is also the title track of a debut EP (released in May) that shows the versatility of his vocals, lending them with equal aplomb to stripped back ‘pure’ songs as well as more uptempo and highly produced tunes.

With a London headline show at Omeara and a slot at Glastonbury under his belt in recent weeks, the Scotland-born 25-year-old’s star is most certainly in the ascendancy, so we decided we simply had to find out more about Tom… Continue reading →

Three years after the release of their first EP Acronyms, American three-piece LANY are finally blessing fans with their much awaited self-titled debut album. Already having four popular EPs under their belt and having supported the likes of Halsey, Troye Sivan and Ellie Goulding on tour, LANY have built a strong name for themselves along with a large and devoted fan base.

The album opens with the calming sound of rain in short but sweet track Dumb Stuff which quickly develops into an electric love song, setting the energetic and passionate tone of the album. The next song, single Breakup, manages to contrast the pain of being alone with a lively dance beat, along with lyrics that speak to any lonely teenager’s soul.

Third track Super Far tells the story of an unhealthy relationship in which one person is much more invested than the other. Frontman, Paul Klein, paints the tragic image of knowing it’s doomed for failure but clinging to hope anyway, in lyrics like ‘my heart is so invested, I don’t want to face the truth’ and ‘Got me begging for affection, all you do is roll your eyes’.

The melodic and emotional tone of the album is somewhat interrupted by track Parents which is a voicemail from member Jake Goss’ mum in response to a photo of his new tattoo which he posted on Instagram a few months back. An old fan would recognize this as a reference to song OMG from their first EP, another voicemail from Jake’s mum also starting with the words ‘oh my god’.

ILYSB is the lead single from the album and the song most people will recognise, with the band releasing a music video for it a few months ago. Klein’s strong vocals and powerful lyrics paint a dramatic picture, one of longing, love and lust. It’s the kind of song that you want to live in. First being released three years ago, it’s the oldest song on the album and considered iconic amongst fans.

LANY – ILYSB

The next few tracks seem to be describing the aftermath of a relationship, with songs 13 and Hericane detailing the emotions left in the wake of love. Track Hurts also couples lyrics that speak of pain and desperation with an electric guitar riff, a common feature of this record.

The first new single to be released from the album was Good Girls, and may be recognised by non-LANY fans as it was recently sampled in the form of a sunglasses Snapchat filter. This perfectly represents the tone of the song, and the album, as it feels like the right way to listen to it would be on a beach at sunset.

LANY – Good Girls

The penultimate song, So, Soo Pretty can only be described as just that. It’s a dreamy instrumental with the angelic piano chords contrasting with some of the pop tones of previous tracks.

LANY finishes with single It Was Love in which Klein reflects on a previous relationship. When placed in context of the whole record, it seems like he is reflecting on the album itself – making you feel more like you’ve just heard a story.

This record is full of vibrant songs about heartbreak that make you unsure whether you’re supposed to dance, cry or, more likely, both. The album tells the tale of love, whether it be true, unfulfilling or lost and Paul Klein’s vocals wrapped up in beautiful synthetic sounds along with his heartfelt lyrics, make it easy for you to immerse yourself in the story he’s telling.

Manchester-based art-pop foursome Everything Everything have dropped the first track from their forthcoming fourth album, and it’s an absolute banger.

Just as they made a big impact with the start of the campaign for their previous album with Distant Past setting the tone for a more urgent, feisty Get To Heaven than its predecessor LP Arc, Can’t Do certainly bodes well for what’s to come when A Fever Dream is released on 18 August.

The Sync-favourites are currently previewing a large slice of the new material at a series of intimate dates around the UK. They then perform a support slot for Foals at Cornwall’s Eden Project before hitting several festivals over the summer including Reading and Leeds and By The Sea in Margate. A full tour in support of A Fever Dream is expected in the Autumn.

Bristol-based singer/producer Tamu Massif has revealed new track Animals, taken from his second EP Bala which is out now.

“I approach writing songs as collages” explains the Bristol-based artist, whose real name is Dave Dixon. “I usually layer up different sections and then connect them. On Bala, sampling my own voice became integral to the songwriting process and I started recording tracks purely to lay down vocals I could manipulate elsewhere.”

The places in which Bala was conceived find their way into the music, both in the lyrics and through field recordings. “Recording clips on my phone in various locations and moments over the past few years has allowed me to add a personal context to the music,” explains Dixon. “It documents where I’ve been, both mentally and physically.”

Tamu Massif has recently completed a tour support slot with The Japanese House, and can be seen performing live again at London’s Citadel Festival on 16 July. Tickets here.

New from Liverpool-based band – and Sync favourites – Haarm is Endangered Species, an absolute beauty of a song that solved a dilemma for us this week. You see, we were stuck between a choice of two great songs for this week’s Track of the Week… then this one came along and blew both of them out of the water!

The band says: “Endangered Species is about how unforgiving a year 2016 was in terms of losing extremely talented people. It was talked about a lot at the time so it was obviously on our minds a great deal and it just seemed so relentless. I guess the song is about learning to treasure and appreciate those who are still with us and not taking anybody for granted.”

The best thing about live music is that it doesn’t matter if the crowd is 20,000 or 200 – if the music’s right you get the same feeling every single time… well, I do anyway! French duo Her have been making incredible music for a while now, but seemingly dong so underground in a way that means only a select few seem to know too much about them.

For their show at London’s Borderline – where even the hallway to the toilets (pictured right) was Instagram-worthy! – Victor Solf and Simon Carpentier were joined by their full live band, enabling their lush sound to be performed with the richness that was always intended.

Support act Alxndr London sublimely set the tone with some awesome deep, bassy tracks and got everyone pumped for Her. Then the main act kept things bubbling throughout with their blend of soul, funk and at times fairly avante-garde music. The noise and excitement for the main act belied the modest size of the venue – particularly the reaction to the first few notes of perhaps their most recognisable track Five Minutes.

Her – Five Minutes (Live for Deezer)

Her, London, 27/4/17 (photo: Chelsea Kostrey)

Their stage presence was strong, with stylish colour-coordinated outfits, but none of the over-stylised aloofness that sometimes come across with some bands. And they were smiling with each other the whole time, seemingly enjoying their evening as much as the rest of us.

As well as Five Minutes, other highlights of their set included Quite Like, Jeanie J and most recent track Swim – all of which should go down well during their extensive festival slots across Europe and beyond (ticket details here).

There are plenty of bands that build up a strong following elsewhere in Europe but, for some reason, have to work particularly hard to break it in to the London music scene. Judging by the reaction from the crowd at this show, it seems likely that we’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more about Her at some of London’s bigger venues in the near future.